The present invention relates generally to electronic gaming apparatus, and more particularly to an improved gaming machine for improving the play and display of gaming graphics utilizing a vertically oriented video screen having touch screen input as a player interface to the device.
Electronic gaming devices have long been provided for playing gambling games such as roulette, poker, bingo, keno, lotto and various other games, and have historically been constructed in a slot machine format typically including a pay board wherein the winning pay-out combinations are displayed; a play section in which electronic or mechanical reels, card-playing indicia or other gaming objects are displayed; and a third area in which a player interface is provided by means of an assortment of buttons, switches, etc. More modern gaming machines have included a video display screen (CRT tube) that is driven by an image generator coupled to a microprocessor that serves as the game controller. In such video implementations, standard television-style cathode ray tubes have normally been used, and electronically generated reels, cards and other objects have been depicted thereon for implementing play of the game. In some embodiments, the pay board is also included as part of the video display, but because this limits the active display area available for gaming presentation, a different screen or type of screen separate and apart from the video display is often utilized. Touch screen interfaces have also been used in gaming machines, but are often limited in their application because of the limited space available on the video screen. Another limitation of the prior art devices using video display screens is that the display has been quite sterile in its presentation, often comprising nothing more than an attempt to electronically present a two-dimensional image replicating the functional display elements of the prior art mechanical gaming apparatus.